1. Field
This invention relates generally to fins worn by users of pontoon boats and float tubes and more particularly to such fins as permit the user to safely and easily mount and dismount from float tubes and pontoon boats and walk around the water""s edge and into the shallow water over slippery underwater obstacles and maintaining his or her balance. Further such fins provide the user the ability to maneuver a pontoon boat or float tube with his or her feet.
2. State of the Art
In the past, swim fins have been modified in various respects in attempts to aid maneuvering of water craft. Such attempts to use swim fins, however modified incur the problem of having the same water resistance in opposed directions, thus swim fins are relatively useless in trying to propel pontoon boats or float tubes while the individual is in an upright position, like standing in some float tubes or sitting in some pontoon boats or float tubes with his or her feet and legs dangling in the water. Further problems exist regarding the possibility of falling while trying to maneuver in or out of a float tube or pontoon boat, which is in shallow water, in which the wearer could slip and fall and suffer potentially serious injury or even drown, especially if the individual is in a remote area far from help.
To overcome some of these difficulties, various devices have been conceived. One such arrangement is set forth in Celik""s U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,139. The fins actions are like butterfly wings that close on forward striding on dry land or river bottom, yet in deep water, rearward movement of the foot or leg propel the float tube forward in the direction the user if facing. Maneuvering in this fashion causes the float tube to move towards the casting direction of the fisherman, more readily tangling his fishing line.
Other designs such as Johnson""s U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,923 B1 disclose propulsion fins, which again move the user in the direction they are facing and the propulsion devices require mechanical unlatching when in use to propel the boat. They are designed such that the user can release the fin member with the toe of one foot cover engaging the latch on the rear of the other fin member. When walking in shallow water or on dry land, the user must make sure the fin member is securely latched.
Another such design fails to have a latching mechanism and thus the fin is like a half sole shoe in which the sole has come loose at the rear and remains attached at the toe. As the fisherman move his or her legs in the water the fin resists movement rearward to propel the float tube and fold against the shoe sole with forward movement. On dry land with little or no fluid resistance, the fin tends to flap when walking. See Schneider""s U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,639.
The Johnson""s U.S. Pat. 6,227,923 B1 reference discloses a number of other awkward arrangements for foot propulsion of float tubes or pontoon boats. It would be recognized that in the sitting position in pontoon boats and float tubes with the individual""s feet dangling in the water without some means of lessening the water resistance in one direction is essential for properly maneuvering the craft in a forward and rearward direction.
Other fins currently on the market are generally too long, heavy, uncomfortable and make it difficult to enter or exit the water craft. Many of such fins are designed strictly for propulsion and make walking in shallow water and on shore difficult and somewhat awkward and likewise somewhat susceptible to slip and fall accidents. Obviously when fishing from a pontoon boat or a float tube, it is necessary to get to the craft, which is in the water, to get in or out of the water craft and to be able to standup and walk in the water without having to remove the fins.
It is an object of the present invention to provide fins for propelling pontoon boats and float tubes, which permit the user to put on, safely walk on the shoreline into the water and get into the water craft wearing the fins, in which the blade section of the fins are angled upwardly in the forward direction to permit a reasonable walking stride for the individual without the fins causing the individual to stumble or trip. Thus permitting the wearer to readily traverse from the shoreline into the shallow water over underwater surfaces and enter the water craft with relative ease.
It is another object of the invention to provide a fin blade design, which provides the desired function to provide the maximum thrust by the upward movement or stroke of the legs and minimal resistance on the downward stroke.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a spoon or shallow ladle design with its greatest breadth centrally or medially of the fin blade to provide maximum resistance or thrust on the upward movement of the spoon shaped fin and provide a minimum resistance on the downward movement, thus propelling the water craft forward with the person facing aft of the water craft.
It is a further feature of the fins to incorporate a sole with cleats or lugs around the periphery and a high density felt gripping pad between the cleats or lugs whereby the lugs allow the user to walk on rough and rocky surfaces and the felt reduces the risk of slipping while in or out of the water. Such arrangement provides better traction for standing and walking or wading on the bottom of a river or lake. The length of lugs and depth of the high density felt is tapered from the front to the rear to provide a more uniform and flat plane from the heel of the wearer""s boot to the blade section of the fin, thus limiting any rocking motion.
It is still further a feature of the fin to provide quick release straps to secure the fin to an individual""s foot or boot. A cross strap is provided with slot plates on each end, which seat over a roundish projection with a non-circular top and an adjustable heel strap with clips on each end oriented to seat over the non-circular top and rotate into position behind the wearer""s heel and thus secure the cross strap and heel strap around the wearer""s boot.